Wowing customers now means more referrals later, study says

When shopping for a lender, 61 percent of recent borrowers asked their friends family members, their REALTOR® or other personal acquaintances for recommendations on choosing a mortgage company, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Primary Mortgage Origination Study. Additionally, more than 40 percent of borrowers indicate they utilize the Internet as a resource for gathering information during their lender shopping process.

The study measures customer satisfaction with the mortgage borrowing process among 4,498 consumers who originated a new mortgage in the past nine months. Three primary factors were identified that drive overall customer satisfaction: application/approval process, loan officer/representative or mortgage broker, and closing process.

"There is money to be made by really wowing a new customer," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the finance and insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "During the post-sale halo period, delighted customers are out there making the most referrals. In a marketplace crowded with lender options, personal testimonial can be the most effective form of advertising for the lender."

And while the application/approval process is a significant factor in achieving customer satisfaction, the study found that the closing process has the greatest impact on overall borrower satisfaction. Customers value convenience when it comes to closing as well as accurate monthly payment calculations.

"Borrowers may feel somewhat deceived when their monthly payment does not match what was quoted in the Good Faith Estimate," Bowler said. "It is vital for lenders to be up-front and as accurate as possible with details at that time, especially if assumptions are being made regarding consumer credit scores."

Of course, it's up to you to provide your customers with accurate numbers, but your mortgage broker XSite website does help you with the convenience factor when it comes to the loan closing. Automatic status updates let your customers know what's going on with their loan and tools like DirectFax allow them to convert all of their loan paperwork into PDFs so everything is organized in place and nothing gets lost in the shuffle. Your clients can also view their paperwork and loan status any time they need to in a password-protected area of your XSite.